Lincoln Center Festival: Theater, music, dance shows you should see

By Matt Windman amNewYork Theater Critic
July 14, 2016

The Lincoln Center Festival is the performing arts equivalent of Disney World’s Epcot Center — a smorgasbord of theater, music and dance selections imported from all over the world, usually in foreign languages, performed next to each other on the Upper West Side.

Highlights of recent years have included Cate Blanchett in “The Maids” and “Uncle Vanya” and productions from London’s Royal Shakespeare Company and Ireland’s Druid Theatre Company. Below are some of this year’s attractions.

Kanze Noh Theatre

Kiyokazu Kanze, a descendent of the founder of Noh (Japan’s 700-year-old form of music- and dance-based drama), will present five Noh dramas. A special Noh-style stage is being constructed for the occasion. July 13-17.

‘Takarazuka Chicago’

With the long-running Broadway revival of “Chicago” about to hit its 20-year anniversary, the Takarazuka Revue, a popular all-female musical theater company from Japan, will present its own production of the classic Kander and Ebb musical performed in Japanese. July 20-24.

‘The Merchant of Venice’

London’s Globe, which made a splash on Broadway three years ago with its Elizabethan-style productions of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” and “Richard III,” returns with a production of “The Merchant of Venice” led by Jonathan Pryce as Shylock. July 20-24.

‘Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme’

Moliere’s 1670 song- and dance-infused satire about trying to rise up the social ladder (known in English as “The Bourgeois Gentleman”) will be performed in the original French by Theatre des Bouffes du Nord, with costumes by fashion designer Christian Lacroix. July 20-24.

‘Golem’

The Jewish folktale of a clay figure that comes to life and does its creator’s bidding is dramatized by 1927, a London company. Using film animation, the adaptation is intended to resemble a graphic novel. July 26-31.

‘The Winter’s Tale’

Shakespeare’s dark romance is turned into a full-length ballet choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon (who won a Tony for “An American in Paris”). It was originally produced by the National Ballet of Canada and London’s Royal Ballet. July 28-31.